


Under Protocol

by momorings



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, F/F, so this happened, thank you momo TT era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-25 20:08:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13220277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/momorings/pseuds/momorings
Summary: They knew saving the world was overrated, but they did it anyway. No one obligated them, they just wanted to do this. They had their personal reasons, but everyone just wanted to kick some ass.Or: that TWICE secret agents AU.





	Under Protocol

**Author's Note:**

> i thought of this when i saw that momo TT era gif again ahhh but idk how this is gonna go because my mind's a mess and i've only thought of a couple of scenarios in my head so bare with me
> 
> ps: thinking of a title and plot summary makes me wanna die because i find it harder than the actual body i hate myself

Sometimes, the universe likes to mess with Momo.

From her position, she could see a bunch of newspapers and bottles surrounding her. She could still hear the faint sounds of people screaming despite the loud thrumming in her ears. She was sure her ribs were broken from the countless punches she failed to deflect from the unconscious man lying just a few centimeters away from her. 

It wasn't supposed to come to this.

She tried standing up, excruciatingly slow, and failing three times. She chuckled, regretting it immediately when she felt something sharp on her chest. She hissed under her breath before pushing herself up using her good hand.

She released a loud groan as she got to a sitting position. Her eyes were squinting, trying to adjust to the dark alley. She touched her forehead and felt something sticky on her fingertips.

She could hear the sound of hornpipes getting louder. Maybe she wasn't beaten up that hard.

She put her good hand on the dirty floor again and pushed herself up, almost falling back down but managing to stand up while wobbling. 

There were a lot of people walking pass the alley she was in and even though the people were probably too preoccupied with making noise and partying, she still grabbed the man on his foot with her last bit of strength and hid him just at the back of some crates. She didn't need attention. She never liked it. She was going to leave him there until someone from her team comes for her.

She leaned herself on the wall, and brought out her phone.

The light from the screen made her eyes hurt. She noticed the huge crack on it.

She thought about buying another one. Maybe when she recovers. 

She called the only number saved on it. They were never allowed to have any crucial information on their phones. Occupational precaution, they say.

It took two rings before the person on the other line answered it. She fought back a laugh because this was definitely not the right time to be laughing and her chest didn't permit her to do so, anyway.

"Thank God, you're alive!"

She coughed before answering. "Barely."

"I've already tracked your phone. Do you need back up or will sending Jeongyeon be enough?"

She managed to crack a smile. _Always the cautious one._ "You make it sound like Jeongyeon can't handle herself."

She heard a small whine on the other line before she continued, "The target is down. Send Jeongyeon faster, though. You're not going to eat all those food without me."

The line went silent. The other girl didn't say anything but she knew. She sighed. "He's just unconscious. Sana, you know I could never.."

"I know," Sana paused, and released a worried sigh, "It's just.. everyone told you not to go alone. We were worried. Very!" 

She closed her eyes and suck in a deep breath. Her feet were killing her. She probably got a few broken bones on her feet too, considering how many times the man smashed a bat on it. She bit her lip at the memory. She focused at the task at hand, lessening Sana's worry and said, "But as you said, I'm alive."

"Whatever," Sana's mocking tone hang in the air but her relief and worry was there, too. "Just stay there, she's three minutes away."

"It's not like I can move, Sana." 

Sana hummed before muttering an apology. 

"I'll tell," She paused and hissed under her breath. Her ribs were really giving her a hard time. "I'll tell you about what happened when I get there."

The cheers got louder and she could hear the crowd outside the alley counting down.

Sana's voice brought her back. "That's not important as of now."

Momo stayed silent.

"But for now.. status?"

Momo sucked in a breath and blinked the dizziness away. "Agent 085, alive. Mission accomplished."

She was about to hang up when she heard her wristwatch buzzing.

It was 12:00 AM. She looked up to see the sky being lit up with different colors. Usually, this would make her smile but in her current situation, she just wants everything to quiet down. The crowd cheered and screamed words the girl didn't bother to understand because she was definitely too distraught to even hear it clearly and also, because it's mixing with different people's screams. This didn't help the buzzing in her ears.

"Hey, Sana." She said it louder this time so she can be heard among the loud the cheers.

"Yeah? You good?"

"Happy New Year."

She could feel the smile radiating from Sana on the other side of the line. "Happy New Year, Momo unnie."

-

So, maybe she was wrong when she thought she wasn't beaten that hard. 

She was almost passed out on the floor when Jeongyeon arrived. Jeongyeon stared at her with wide eyes before staring back at the unconscious man in front of her. Her friend probably thought Momo could handle herself.

Momo thought so too.

"Jeong... damn.. it."

That seemed to snap Jeongyeon from thinking too much about the situation and carefully carried Momo to the car with ease. When the street light finally illuminated Momo's face, Jeongyeon didn't even stop herself from gasping. 

Her friend's face turned grim. "God, Momo. I told you not to go alone!"

Momo grimaced. She was looking at the other girl with half closed eyes now. 

Her friend's face softened. "I'll beat that punk into a pulp when he wakes up."

Momo closed her eyes at this, too exhausted to even say anything. She knew Jeongyeon was serious, though.

Momo soon felt her body being lowered on something soft so she knew she was inside the car right now. Without a second to spare, and her body finally knowing it's safe to do so, she immediately passed out.

-

Jeongyeon almost dragged the man out of the alley but she knew that would clearly beat the _"blend in the background"_ protocol they had. So, instead, she put her cap on top of the man's head, and put his arms on her shoulders. She was going to beat her twice as hard because of this.

She put him on the back carelessly, but careful enough to not wake Momo up.

Jeongyeon grimaced again at how beat up Momo looked. Her right eye was swollen and her cheek and forehead had a huge gash on it. Her lip is cracked and her clothes were a mess, too. Jeongyeon didn't even need to know how many bones Momo broke just from the built of the guy that she fought.

Jeongyeon remembered how everyone practically volunteered to go with Momo on this mission but Momo insisted to go alone, telling everyone that they should save their bodies and strength for the next missions, saying that this mission was just a piece of cake.

Everyone was well aware of how trained and skilled Momo is - she probably is even the best one out of them. She was the most trained in the basics and even the things that weren't acquired from training. Even if they were all trained and were great at what they were doing, Momo always was the person that did it best. She was always working the hardest among them so everyone believed and trusted in Momo.

The engine roared to life while Jeongyeon was still thinking on how this buff man managed to land such fatal blows on her friend.

Jeongyeon knew Momo had survived more dangerous missions with no scratch on her so this one really piqued her interest.

She was definitely going to discuss this with her friends.

-

One thing Momo couldn't stand? The smell of antiseptics. 

She scrunched her nose to block out the smell only to find out that she couldn't because something was blocking her from doing so. She opened her eyes, only to close them immediately because of the light that was definitely too bright for her liking.

She could feel a presence beside her. She was sure it was Sana because of the soft snores. Out of all them, Sana was the only one she has heard snore. And Sana always slept close to her, so she was familiar with the sounds she makes while sleeping.

"...S-Sana," She said. Her throat was parched.

So, maybe she was really _that_ beaten up.

Her voice was weak and not that loud but she felt Sana stirring beside her and then Sana whispering, "Unnie? Are you awake?"

The only response Momo could do was raise her arms, which made Sana release a sigh of relief. Suddenly, she felt Sana moving away and then a switch being turned off. Before she could say anything, Sana already spoke up. 

"I know you hate bright lights."

At this, Momo opened her eyes to a dim room. There wasn't any light except for the light from the window. Momo blinked her eyes to adjust to the dimness of the room as Sana helped her sit up. There were a few grunts here and there, and Sana mumbling a series of apologies that Momo waved off.

It was nighttime. She opened her mouth to speak but her throat wasn't having any of it. Sana seemed to notice this so she grabbed a water bottle from the bedside table and uncapped it. 

Momo badly needed that drink, it showed on her face when Sana started laughing. Momo emptied the bottle and cracked a smile.

"Well, that was hea...venly."

She barely got her sentence finished when Sana suddenly jumped on her bed and crushed her with a hug. She wasn't even surprised that Sana was sobbing on her shoulders right now. Gripping her like Momo was going to collapse on her any minute now. She let out a small laugh.

"Sana.. my ribs."

Sana sniffled before untangling herself from Momo and looking up at the ceiling, refusing to let Momo see her eyes. This made Momo laugh louder. It was dim in the room but Momo noticed Sana's puffy eyes when she glared at her. She was probably worried sick.

Momo raised her arms and saw the bandages covering it. For all she knows, her entire body must be covered in bandages.

Sana sniffled one more time before sitting at the edge of the bed and staring at Momo. "You've been asleep for three days."

Momo barely raised her eyebrows at this. With their job, each one of them had a fair share of being _half dead_ (that's what they liked to call it) in this room. It was just a spacious plain white room with ten beds which was purposefully made for them in case they got hurt. At first, this room only had four beds - for Momo, Sana, Jeongyeon and Jihyo. But then the other girls came. Now, it had ten beds despite only having eight girls working. The longest time someone stayed here was a month. That had to be Sana when one of her missions outside the country ended bad. 

Everyone thought she was going to die.

Sana just laughed at them when she woke up.

But everyone knew that when Sana came back from her mission, the biggest scar was the one no one saw. A piece of Sana died.

"Where is everybody?"

Sana blinked. Momo felt something tug at her heart. Her friend - no, Sana was more like a sister to her - must've been really worried. Momo just chose not to comment at the tears Sana was trying to keep at bay.

"T-they're meeting the newbie." Sana replied before standing up from the bed and sitting back on her chair.

Momo frowned. "Newbie?"

Sana probably got her emotions in check now because she giggled, "Okay, that might not be the right word. I heard she's really good."

Momo was confused. She removed her blanket and proceeded to stand up, shaking her head when Sana stood up to help her. She was still a bit dizzy but she can manage. 

"What do you mean newbie?"

The last girl to join them was Chaeyoung. They were all huddled up in the main office, waiting for her to arrive only to realize that Chaeyoung was already among them. Chaeyoung spoke up, "Who are we waiting for?" and then Nayeon saying, "The new recruit. She's late, though."

It took them three minutes and fifteen seconds to realize that _she_ was the new recruit and she just disguised herself among them for almost an hour. It was no surprise that she got close to everyone at that exact moment.

That was two years ago.

"Uh.. that's what they told me. A new recruit." Sana stood up too, clearly worried that Momo wasn't still in the greatest condition to stand up.

Momo walked slowly around the room, blinking. Three days of no movement sure made her body stiff. She'll probably have to ask Tzuyu to help her get into shape again.

Just thinking about slacking off or lying down on the bed, and resting would probably make a normal person cry in relief. But not for Momo. The thought of breaking routine and the cycle she has considered her life already makes her feel useless. Normal was never introduced in her life. 

She knows she had a choice if she would continue on this path. Her other friends know it too. But they chose this anyway.

They knew saving the world was overrated, but they did it anyway. No one obligated them, they just wanted to do this. They had their personal reasons, but everyone just wanted to kick some ass.

Momo turned around to face Sana who had no trace of tears in her face now. Instead, a worried and sharp look replaced the soft and caring look that was there earlier. "Shall we meet the recruit?"

Sana nodded. A silent agreement that Momo refused to keep on resting despite the injuries she has acquired.

Momo was used to it. Momo was used to this.

-  
The place where they are right now is the main base in South Korea for one of the underground secret agency under Asia's Defense Agency: Partition.

The main office was once just a plain white hall with a few black mono bloc chairs scattered around. No one usually goes there unless they were having a new recruit. But when Chaeyoung arrived two years ago, she laughed at how boring their office looked so ever since then, the walls have been painted with a dark shade of blue while the mono bloc chairs have been replaced by comfortable couches.

Momo and Sana's travel (even though the main office and the healing ward were only separated by a metal bridge) wasn't easy. Momo stumbled a lot of times with Sana trying her hardest to feel worried and not laugh at Momo. The older girl didn't fail to hear a chuckle escaping Sana's lips so even if she was not in the finest condition, she managed to trip Sana on the floor.

Then, they both laughed.

They made their entrance known when Momo spoke up, "Hey, losers."

It only took three seconds before Momo was surrounded by her six other friends who were taking turns hugging Momo or messing Momo's already messy hair. The injured girl managed to push them off of her when Jeongyeon almost rode her back.

"What are you, a monkey?!" Momo grunted as she pushed a clearly overjoyed Jeongyeon.

Jeongyeon jutted her lip out, "What? I can't miss you?"

Momo blinked.

Eventually, Jeongyeon scrunched her nose at what she said and the whole group burst into fits of laughter.

Even if her entire body was still aching, telling her to go back to bed and sleep, and let her wounds heal entirely, Momo knew that at this moment - standing and knowing that her friends are still alive and are okay, she's sure that her heart is full.

Momo's friend seemed to stop cheering and bombarding her with _"How are you?", "What happened?", "I'm so glad you're alive"_ when someone made their presence known by fake clearing their throat.

Jihyo was the first one to speak, "Oh! The recruit arrived!"

Nayeon pushed the other girls away from Momo so that she can see the new recruit fully.

When Momo looked up at the said recruit, her grin vanished. Because she knew. She knew her vision wasn't failing her from the way the girl's hair was still cut just beneath the shoulders, as if even after years had passed, some parts of her would still be the same. She knew her mind wasn't playing tricks on her when that smile - _the smile_ she thought she would never see again was finally directed at her after years had passed, as if the universe telling her that she could never run away from some things. And she knew from her eyes, that no amount of anesthesia can prepare her for the pain that's about to come. 

Momo knew.

She could hear Sana suck a deep breath beside her. Everything and everyone seemed to stop. Momo felt another headache coming.

Nayeon's voice seemed so far away to Momo when she said, "Momo, Sana, this is-"

Sana was still gaping when Momo spoke up, "Mina."

The other girl seemed surprised at the bite and hostility in Momo's voice. The warmth that used to seep through her each time she hears Momo speak was nowhere to be found now. Despite that, she still smiled.

"Momo. Sana."

The rest of the people in the room were confused. "You three know each other?"

Momo was tempted to say _"No"_ but Sana must've finally gotten her voice back when she squealed. "Minari!"

Momo was still frowning as Mina and Sana hugged each other. Momo was tempted to join but something stopped her. Maybe, it was the guilt from the hostile greeting she gave Mina, or the smile Mina was directing at Sana and how Momo feels about it, or just the memories of a long forgotten past caving it's way back into Momo's life, making her... miserable.

Another thing Momo hated was moments where she feels clueless. Because when she's on the field, she always knows what to do, has enough intel to decide on things. Her movements are always calculated and prepared beforehand. She always foresee how things are going to end.

But, as she stares back at Mina, she doesn't have the answers to the the questions going through her head.

And she hates that.

So, the first thing she does, and immediately regrets is when she said, "What are you doing here?"

The hurt that flashed in Mina's eyes as she untangled herself from Sana was enough for Momo to feel disgusted at herself. The thin line that was a poor excuse for a smile that was now plastered on Mina's face was enough for Momo to want to go back to bed again and never wake up.

Because this situation, was the situation Momo was and will never be used to.

Momo hated herself more when she heard a break in Mina's voice. "I'm t-the new recruit."

Momo hated how Mina seemed to not realize why she's acting like this to her. As if Mina forgot what happened in the past, too. As if what Momo once said never mattered.

Momo never expected to meet her like this. She didn't even expect to meet her again. _Ever._

But, it happened anyway.

Sometimes, the universe likes to mess with Momo.


End file.
